Day 21 - Surfing and Turtles

Elliot and I were up early as usual playing a game on the iPad until the girls got up. We went and had some pancakes and maple syrup, well that's what it said on the menu and yet it tasted more like Mrs. Buttersworth. While waiting for our breakfast a man drew my interest as he was walking to a spot on the beach with a shovel and scooping up something washed in by the waves. The kids and I went to check it out and we found out that what he was moving were sea urchins; really spiny ones. He was moving them so no one would harm themselves by stepping on them.

After our breakfast we grabbed our gear and made our way to the surf shop. Elliot was too shy to try surfing, so it was just the girl and me. We all packed into the back of a pretty worn looking pickup truck, another couple joined us for the trip to the beach. We spent about an hour driving through some pretty scenic countryside until we finally reached Playa Ramonsa. What a beach! We were the only ones there and the waves were amazing. The decks of our boards were waxed up by our instructor, something I didn't know happened. The wax is then coated in sand that creates the textured surface to get a grip on when you are standing.

We got sorted out which type of stance we were and then worked out how to get our body upright on the board in the sand. Thinking we had the basics down we set to the water to put the theory into practice. Our instructor sorted out the waves for us; big waves were mine and small waves were Tegan's. Big waves for me equalled big falls. I kept struggling to get my feet actually under my body and onto the board, which resulted in fall after fall. My brain was hurting from all the saline injections. Did, I not tell you how badly Tegan was at surfing? She isn't! She is amazing and continued to make everyone (me) look bad. She would ride waves out to the end and she even challenged waves by riding into their rips. Wild stuff my eyes were experiencing.

We had a break for an hour or so to scarf down some lunch and drink some Cokes. While we surfed, Elliot played in the sand and surf and worried Mom plenty by doing so. He also made many attempts to befriend the little girl at the comida while her Mom worked there. After lunch I had to get back in the water and get up on that surfboard. Tegan continued to dazzle us with a display of super surfing power. She only continued trying for about 20 minutes more until calling it quits. I finally managed to get up on the board on my second or third try after lunch and not again after that, despite all my attempts. It was a very successful day of surfing.

We were also given a display of surfing by an older gentleman hailing from Virginia and currently building a home for himself up on the hillside above the beach. We got to talk to him and chill out after our surfing had completed. The truck was suppose to return at 3pm but actually finally arrived around 4pm. Gotta love Central American time! We loaded up the surfboards and the people and then the truck wouldn't start. So out the boys jumped to give the truck a push start. 1st gear didn't work, so again with a run at 2nd gear... Lo hicamos! We did it! On our way back now and this time I sat in the back with Tegan, Elliot, Tracey and John. We had a silent game that ended in Elliot crying because he lost even though he managed to be silent for about 15 minutes straight. For Elliot, 15 minutes is an eternity!

Back in SJDS, we gave our thanks to our instructor and goodbyes to our new friends. Back at our room we just chilled and snacked on leftover quesadillas until a supper call by Mom. Nobody seemed to be too hungry or thirsty and we just made a minimal order of food with drinks to tie us over while on our turtle tour. We did manage to get our fill of that delicious gelato again; however, there wasn't any chocolate this time.

The ride to Playa La Flor was a long one and a poop-your-pants kind of one too. We were driven in a newer Toyota Hilux pickup truck to the beach. We came across a accident involving a large truck and a pickup that happened to be on the road bordering our driver's family farm. He was just a little excited when he saw the accident and voiced his excitement accordingly in front of the kids. Hopefully his accent didn't allow Tegan and Elliot to make out what he was saying.

About another 20 minutes down the road is when it happened. We were coming down a hill and a large truck was slowly coming up the hill when out jump a dozen guys in fatigues and holding machine guns. The situation started out pretty scary and our driver exiting the vehicle to talk to the soldiers was equally discomforting. We were told not to worry as it was the Nicaraguan army and they were likely looking for someone dealing with narcotics trafficking. Still doesn't help much when there are 2 soldiers in front of you, one with his hand on the grip, the other soldier with his hand on the trigger.

"These aren't the droids your looking for", our driver told the soldiers and we were on our way. At the beach the signs welcome you to the turtle refuge and precautions to take while viewing the turtles at night. The kids got to hold a baby turtle that was hatched in large feed bags full of sand and recovered eggs. After the cute-fest, we went out to the beach where we saw a few dozen turtles in a small area of the beach. Our guide showed us the egg laying process, by digging a hole at the rear of the turtle exposing the nest she was laying her eggs in. It was quite the amazing sight to see. Round little ping pong ball shaped and sized eggs dropped down into the nest of sand dug out by the mother turtle. She would lay approximately 100 eggs into her nest and then bury the eggs with sand so that there were no signs of there ever being a turtle at that spot on the beach.

The turtles that were beaching tonight were the Paslamas breed. The female turtles we saw were about the size of a car tire. They paddled their way up the beach from the sea to find their particular nesting spot. Once locating the spot, the begin to dig a deep hole into the sand with their back legs. The legs dish out the sand quite effectively and once she is happy with the size of the hole, she begins filling it with eggs.

We spent only about an hour on the beach and then were persuaded into going back as we still had the potential of bumping into the army again. We did bump into the army again, however they were at the scene of the accident and now the road way was congested with a dozen or more vehicles and about 30-40 people. We weaved through the pylons of people with difficulty, as our guide kept stalling the truck on the incline. 11pm was when we finally arrived back at the hostel, Elliot was well asleep and Tegan was nearly there as well. It was a different night. Happy to be safe back in our room.